


First Impressions

by keyboardclicks



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Gen, mentioned Grell/Eric, mentioned William T. Spears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-15
Updated: 2014-05-15
Packaged: 2018-01-24 22:06:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1618673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keyboardclicks/pseuds/keyboardclicks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Senior Eric Slingby is assigned his first little mentee.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Impressions

Being stuck with a greenie plucked fresh from the academy is something Eric expected, but in no way looked forward to. One could not avoid this sort of responsibility after climbing to a certain height on the promotional ladder, but all the same when Eric received the slip of paper detailing his new assignment he groaned as if he were just assigned to Bedlam. Red made comments about how it feels as if it were “Only yesterday that you were my darling not-so-little-junior!”

“Yeah, and only yesterday that you were shagging me on your desk, tellin’ me what a good little slag I was.” He grinned. “Oh wait, that was yesterday.”

Grell slapped the back of his head playfully with a file. “And now look at you, all grown up and getting a Junior of your own; I’m so proud!”

Eric merely grumbled in response, fiddling idly with a pen and pretending to care about the words on the paper in front of him. Grell, perched carefully on the corner of his desk with her legs crossed, inquired about the creche he was to be tending. In response he slid over the folder he had been given, detailing his assignment’s name, grades, and other important information, which wasn’t much. The file had also come with comments from various professors about the boy’s work ethic, attitude, and other things that Eric had stopped caring about long before he began to read.

“How dull; little thing looks like he’s still in his trainers,” Grell commented, poking at the picture attached to the file.

When he had glanced, Eric had noticed that the glasses did look very similar to the glasses of the academy; most reapers opted for something very different, but it seemed that the lad was fond of the classic.

Tossing the file back onto Eric’s desk carelessly, Grell let out a dramatic yawn. “Well, he seems absolutely unremarkable. Pity; I was hoping for someone fun.”

“You mean you were hoping for someone who’d let you seduce’m into joining us in “voluntary overtime”. Whatsa matter, I’m not good enough for you anymore?”

Again, she swatted her used-to-be-junior on the head. “Mind always in the gutter, Mr. Slingby.”

“Learned from the best.”

Grell chuckled, hopping down from the desk. “That you did.” She stretched with a noise almost catlike. “Well, I suppose I should get to my own office and my own work, although it’s much less interesting… perhaps I’ll go entertain William for a while.”

“So long as you don’t put him in more of a foul mood than usual go do whatever the hell you want. This report’s a week late and I gotta get on it before he beats my ass into the next century.” Knowing what Grell was about to say, he added, “And before you say something dirty about it, no. Now leave.” Although he made no motion to actually get to work.

Grell left, and if Eric was actually trying to work nobody would know. It was certain, however, that the next time Eric looked away from his desk, there was no more work done than when Grell had left.

“Excuse me?” there came a voice from the doorway. “Are you Mr. Slingby?”

Looking from his desk, Eric saw that in the doorway of his office stood the young man from the photograph in the file. He looked him over; he had the usual suit with no modifications, down to the knot in the tie, and the glasses that looked almost like the ones given to students. He looked as if he had tried too hard to make his hair neat, which only made it plainly obvious that said hair did not want to stay said way. He stood at about 5’7 by Eric’s guessing, and stood almost too straight, waiting for a response. It appeared that Eric had somehow been tasked with looking after a wannabe Mr. Spears, and he inwardly groaned as he stood.

“Yeah, that’s me. Alan Humphries?”

He nodded, holding out his hand to shake Eric’s. “Yes, sir. A pleasure to meet you.”

“Enough with all the formalities,” Eric said as he shook the younger’s hand. “I’m Eric, you’re Alan, and it’s no more a pleasure for you to meet me than it is for you to meet any other reaper here.” He’d give it to the boy, though; he had a good handshake.

For a moment, Alan seemed confused, letting his hand fall back at his side, looking up quite a bit so that he could look his new mentor in the eye. “I’ve… I’ve heard you’re a very qualified reaper, Mr. Slingby.”

“As qualified as anyone else.”

“I’ve heard you are exemplary.”

Eric rolled his eyes. “Ah c’mon; I don’t want a mentee kissin’ my ass to score points. Nobody here’d describe me as ‘exemplary’, especially not Spears.”

“I’m not trying to kiss up to you, Mr. Slingby-”

“Eric.”

The mentee nodded. “E-Eric, then.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair, messing up any work he put into making it neat-ish. “Honestly, though, I am not trying to be a kiss-up. I have heard that you are an excellent field worker, one of the best in the division. The only one here whom I have heard more about is Mr. Sutcliff… or is it Miss?”

“Nobody knows,” Eric shrugged dismissively.

Alan considered, then moved past the matter. Taking a breath he continued, “Anyway, I was not trying to kiss your ass, and I find that to be no way to conduct myself. I am a full reaper now, one with a suit and a scythe; I would not degrade myself in such a manner. And if you do not believe me then you are free to have Mr. Spears assign me to a new mentor.”

The taller reaper looked down at his mentee, studying him. He could see that he was flustered, perhaps even nervous from what he had just said. Maybe he thought Eric was going to yell at him, or scold him for talking back to his senior. Eric did not do these things, however, instead clapping the new recruit on the back.

“That was good; you should speak your mind more often. Word choice’s still a bit stiff, but you’ll get there.”

Alan seemed confused. Eric supposed he couldn’t blame him, and flashed a grin.

“Most mentees just follow their senior blindly, and agree to whatever they say. If you’re gonna get anywhere, you gotta know when to speak your mind, and that was one of the times.” He nudged Alan out of his doorway, closing the office door as they began to walk. “C’mon, let’s grab lunch, and after that we can get to some reaps.”

“On my first day?”

“You handled yourself fine at your final exam; besides, would you rather be stuck at a desk doing paperwork?”

Alan smiled. With a grin like that, his hair messed up like it was, and his shoulders relaxed as they walked, Eric thought that maybe the newbie wasn’t so much like Spears, and maybe this would end up alright.


End file.
